Distant supernova split 4 ways by gravitational lens

Distant supernova split 4 ways by gravitational lens

03/10/2015 12:40 PM EDT

Astronomers now use massive galaxies and clusters of galaxies as magnifying lenses to study the early universe, but until now had never observed the brief flash of a supernova. University of California, Berkeley, postdoc Patrick Kelly found such a supernova in images taken last year by the Hubble Space Telescope. The exploding star, about 9.3 billion light years from Earth, was split into a rare "Einstein Cross," a four-part image predicted by the General Theory of Relativity.

Full story at http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2015/03/05/distant-supernova-split-four-ways-by-gravitational-lens/

Source
University of California, Berkeley

This is an NSF News From the Field item.